VIPERINE HATED PORTALS; she despised the sensation of being crushed between dimensions; she despised the sensation of her organs being crushed and compressed by parsecs as she moved from one location to another.

She didn't know if this was common, as she'd never heard other fairies complain about the sensation. Maybe it was just different for her—in which case, there was a good explanation. But she wouldn't be bold enough to ask anyone about it, at least not someone she'd just met.

She had fantasized about attending a college for fairies and specialists since she was a child, when she imagined the powers and wings they possessed. But dreams die, and hers were destroyed a long time ago. Actually being inside the Alfea campus wasn't as grand a thing as she'd once imagined it to be.

It was even a bit boring. She never thought that one day she would use that word to describe the school, but it was reality. Groups of faeries and experts gathered, side conversations ringing, a boy walking with a knife—okay, that was peculiar, but not enough for her to care.

Viperine was walking around inside the buildings, stepping out of the sun as she carried Anakin in one hand, careful not to fall and run from her. A backpack was on her back, with a few belongings in it. Another suitcase of hers was already in her supposed room, along with Anakin's terrarium. With that in mind, she needed to find her way to her room soon.

"Fuck, you don't pay attention, do you?" exclaimed a boy, as he and Viperine pushed into the hallway.

He was tall, his features sharp, as were his jawline, sardonic eyebrows, and plastic surgery nose. He wore a leather jacket over a gray sweatshirt and skinny jeans. He was irritated, probably from the crash they got into. Above Viperine, he almost managed to be menacing, but she had to suppress her laughter at the sight of shaggy hair that should have seen better days.

"Who carries a knife around?" she exclaimed, bringing her pet up to her lips, where she placed a small kiss on its head. "You could have hurt Anakin."

"Why are blondes always the craziest?" he asked, rolling his eyes furiously. "Do you have some kind of secret code?"

"Egocentric idiots like you are born that way or take a course?"

Viperine rose, emotional control enough to approach the boy. He didn't back down at first, but as soon as he noticed the snake stretching and approaching him, he had to back away, doing his best not to show his fear in front of the animal.

"Oh, lost your speech?" she urged. "Got scared?"

He backed away, refusing to take a few steps back.

"Get that thing away from me!" he commanded angrily.

"Stay out of my way, asshole," she yelled back, trying to get past. However, he blocked her way.

"This is the experts' building," he growled, seeing her slightly startled. "You're the one to stay out of my way, fairy."

Viperine rolled her eyes, sulking as she turned around and headed back to the other building. She knew there were asshole boys and idiots like the one she'd just met, but deep down she wished she'd gotten in trouble with one of them.

But luck was against her. Of course, one of these guys would be the first she would run into there. Asshole boys like him thought only of themselves and how to bed the most popular girl before her friends. Viperine knew this nasty boy followed that pattern, not that she was surprised.

The typical bad boy in high school, the one who every girl would like to be with. What a cliché, thought Viperine, walking up the stairs and around the students she passed, dodging suitcases and bags on the hallway floor.

On the paper she was given upon entering Alfea, her room was in suite number 169, but finding him was proving to be a more difficult task than she imagined it would be. So many ports and so many students... Officially, she was lost.

"You want help? I know everything around here."

Viperine turned just as she heard the voice behind her. It was of a girl, shorter than she, holding a fern and flashing a dazzling, irritating smile. Viperine held back the urge to roll her eyes, but she knew she needed help finding her room.

"I don't think my room..."

"Is that a real snake?" She cut it off, almost screaming in fear at the sight of the animal in her hands. "I didn't know they were allowed here.

"It's certainly not dead," she replied, holding back.

"It looks lethal," he commented, shivering as the animal tried to approach her, but Viperine held her back.

"He is," she said, smiling evilly. "Your venom can kill a person in thirty minutes or a few hours. This is Anakin, a tiger snake.

"That sounds fascinating and terrifying at the same time.

The fairy held out her hand, asking Viperine to hand her the paper with her room number. It was something very quick, as the fairy looked like she was about to faint if she got any closer to Anakin.

"169 is at the end of the hall, turning left," she said, about to walk away. "By the way, my name is Terra, but my friends call it... Well, Terra."

"Viperine."

She quickly thanked him, walking past Terra and walking up to her suite. Technically, she wasn't too excited about the idea of sharing a room with more girls. She liked to have privacy. She preferred that people not interfere in her life and keep as much distance as possible.

Maybe she could scare them so much that first week that her roommates would ask for a transfer to Alfea headmistress Farah Dowling. But Viperine had limits to what she could achieve, and she had to wait for orders from above. Even though she didn't understand why she followed them so deftly and without question.

Is there a greater cause? Revenge? Maybe she just liked chaos like her mother? The possibilities were numerous. Still, she saw no reason to stop her from terrorizing her roommates' nights a little. After all, she liked the electrifying fear coursing through her victims' veins.

━━━━━━

9.10.22

Welcome to my new Fate: the Winx Saga fanfic, Medusa. This fanfic was originally written in Portuguese, and now I'm translating it into English. I apologize if there are any mistakes since English is not my first language.

Medusa is part of a duology! I wrote this story with Donatumblr who wrote Mind Soldier. In other words, each of us developed main characters whose stories complement each other. We advise you to read both stories for a better understanding.

I really hope you like Medusa and Mind Soldier, so don't forget to let us know what you think. Season Two of Fate: The Winx Saga is out this September, so there's a great possibility that we'll be back in a few weeks to write the sequel.

𓆙 𓆙 𓆙

[ Uᴘʟᴏᴀᴅs ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ Sᴀᴛᴜʀᴅᴀʏ ]
I'ʟʟ sᴇᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴇxᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ